Dispute Over Harmon Tower Reaches Nevada Supreme Court

The legal battle between MGM Resorts International's CityCenter project and the general contractor on the troubled Harmon tower has reached the Nevada Supreme Court. According to VegasINC, the representatives of the $8.5 billion development have requested that the court overturn a ruling that would delay the demolition of the $275 million, 26-story Harmon tower.

The legal battle between MGM Resorts International’s CityCenter project and the general contractor on the troubled Harmon tower has reached the Nevada Supreme Court. According to VegasINC, the representatives of the $8.5 billion development have requested that the court overturn a ruling that would delay the demolition of the $275 million, 26-story Harmon tower.

CityCenter initially announced plans to demolish the problem-plagued tower and cut its losses on August 15, 2011. Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez put the brakes on that plan in July when she ruled that CityCenter is prohibited from using extrapolation techniques in its attempt to prove that the building is defective beyond any use.

CityCenter made its case by hiring structural engineering expert Gary Hart to evaluate 397 of the building’s main structural elements. Hart concluded that 396 of the components were faulty. Based on his experience, he extrapolated that an additional 1,072 structural elements were compromised. Gonzalez based her ruling on the argument that the 397 components examined by Hart were not chosen randomly.

The Harmon tower has had a difficult history. Problems in early phases of construction reduced the planned number of stories from 49 to 26, eliminating plans for a residential component to the project.